NASCAR Racing 4

Pushing tin tops to the limit.

June 2001 By STEVE SMITH

0shares

Ever since I was a kid, all I've ever wanted to do is race cars. These days, that's all I do. Thanks to the same lone gunmen who brewed up the world's best road-racing simulation (the venerable "Grand Prix Legends"), I can now trade paint-online or off-with the Waltrips, the Wallaces, the Jarretts, the Labontes, et familia alia, in "NASCAR Racing 4." (Many of today's real-world hotshoes hone their skills on the Internet under clever pseudonyms, of course.) You can, too. Or, if you're not into online racing, you can race against the computer, providing it has more horsepower than a Robert Yates qualifying engine has. The hardware requirements are pretty steep: You need a fast (500-plus MHz) CPU, a hot video accelerator (the nVidea GeForce series is favored), plenty o' RAM (128 Mb is modest in this league), and a proper steering-wheel-and-pedals setup like ThrustMaster's NASCAR Pro Digital 2 ($55).

"NASCAR Racing 4" (Papyrus Racing Games; PC, Windows; $45) gives you all the 2001 NASCAR chassis (Ford, Chevy, Pontiac, Dodge), all 21 of the tracks as raced in the 2000 Winston Cup season detailed down to the placement of individual cracks in the pavement, and most-but not all-of the current roster of NASCAR regulars (no Bill Elliott, for example). The cars look spectacular-the sheetmetal glistens in the sun and wrinkles convincingly when you clout the wall, as you surely will. Just like the real thing, they push like a mutha, requiring a surprisingly delicate touch at the controls. The game has all kinds of adjustments to make it hard or easy. Players can adjust the speed (or difficulty or both) of their own car, the relative strength of the competition, even bend most of the rules. You don't want any yellow flags or pace laps slowing down the action? No problem. But you still can't speed in pit lane without getting black-flagged.

The cars feel amazingly "alive" on the track. They answer to a fully three-dimensional physics model, which means they rock, roll, yaw, pitch, slither, and bounce every which way. The cars can catch some serious air (the roof flaps work when you get backward), flip, and crash. You can lock up the wheels and flat-spot your tires. You can overrev or overheat the engine. You can even break the gearbox in a road race. You can feel the draft at Daytona and Talladega. If you grind to a halt by the side of the track, you can feel the whump of air as another car misses you by inches at 200 mph.

You sit cooped up in what sometimes feels like a tank simulation, peering through "buzzard bars" and safety netting. The cockpit view jiggles as you traverse the bumps, the engine note hammers a convincing baritone, and the cockpit workload is high. In an annoying stab at reality, the steering pulls strongly to the left (whether or not you have a force-feedback steering wheel). Your spotter natters away at you. Your pit stops must be precise: A few too many inches to the left, and your crew won't change the tires on that side. Online, you suffer actionable abuse from the other drivers (up to 43 players can connect through the game's built-in "matchmaking" software). You must monitor your position, lap times, interval, tire wear, fuel consumption, water temp, oil pressure, etc. You can use the clutch, if you prefer (or toggle ABS, traction control, and steering help on and off). "NASCAR Racing 4" favors pack drafting, which is nerve-racking enough with the computer-controlled cars and positively aneurysm-producing against human opponents. When you finish a race, you're usually sweating bullets. In short, it feels like a sport, not just a game.

On the other hand, if you don't like racing around in circles, "NASCAR Racing 4" has little to offer. The only road circuits are the Glen and the now-truncated Sears Point. The stockers are glorious to watch on road circuits, but it's really hard to shepherd these 3400-pound, skinny-tired dinosaurs through the twisties with anything like grace, let alone speed. If road racing is your preference, nothing comes close to Papyrus's "Grand Prix Legends." I ought to know-I've been playing it for two years straight. Life is good. At last, I'm a race-car driver.